HANOVER, Md. – The Frostburg State Baseball team won their weekend series against Clarion splitting their doubleheader on Saturday with final scores of 9-1 and 7-4, before winning in fashion on Sunday 10-9 to close the weekend out at Joe Cannon Stadium.
In the opening game, both offenses started out cold as both pitchers showed out from the mound. Sophomore Jacob Stretch got the start for the Bobcats allowing a leadoff walk, but striking out four of the next six batters he faced. In the top of the third, it was the Golden Eagles who would strike first scoring from third on a wild pitch. The Bobcats responded with three runs of their own to take the lead off RBIs from sophomore Danny Estrada, sophomore Mikey Guy, and senior Trevor Jones.
Things would stay quiet from there until the bottom of the fifth, when Frostburg started to run away with things. Back-to-back singles by Jones and senior Andrew Smith would end the afternoon for Clarion's starter, making it 5-1 in favor of FSU. The Bobcats continued their offensive success to get three more runs in the fifth as junior Aidan Duda hit a sacrifice fly and sophomore Christian Shertzer hit a two RBI single to right field. In the top of the sixth, Guy took advantage of another pitching change by the Golden Eagles, hitting one over the fence to deep right field to seal the 9-1 victory for the Bobcats. Stretch was credited with the win striking out five and giving up one run.
In the second game, senior Jack Maruskin got the start for the Bobcats, but the Eagles got off to a hot start scoring off a double play early in the first inning to go up 1-0. Maruskin would be pulled in the fourth inning, finishing the day with seven strikeouts. Back-to-back RBI singles in the fourth by junior Ethan Kiple and sophomore Cy Probst would allow FSU to gain the lead, before Clarion would jump out to a 4-2 lead off a single and a trio of wild pitches in the fifth, and an RBI single in the sixth. Headed into the bottom of the sixth, Estrada stepped into the box, and crushed a leadoff home run, closing the scoring gap to 4-3.
Both teams stayed quiet in the seventh, but the Bobcats were able to tie it up at four apiece in the bottom of the eighth off another single by Kiple, that would score Estrada from second. The Golden Eagles would not let the game stay tied very long, as they scored three runs in the top of the ninth to take a commanding three-run lead. The Bobcats would have a chance in their last at-bats in the bottom of the ninth, but were unable to get going, dropping the game 7-4.
The third game would start in favor of the Golden Eagles as they would get on the board first, once again scoring on a double play in the first inning. The bats started to come alive for the Bobcats in the third as Guy continued his monster weekend with another homerun to tie the game at one. Sophomore Randy Steen would get in on the scoring, hitting an RBI single to left field that would score Jones from third and give FSU a 2-1 lead.
Both teams traded runs in the fourth as Clarion would score on a sacrifice fly before Estrada hit an RBI single to center to give Frostburg back the lead. The Golden Eagles made it a different ball game in the sixth, scoring four runs on five hits and two errors, jumping out to a 6-3 lead. FSU fired right back as junior Justin Jimenez would smack a leadoff double and be scored on a single from Shertzer. Shertzer would then score on another bomb from Guy, tying the game up once again, this time 6-6.
The Golden Eagles would keep their bats going, scoring three more in the seventh off one hit, and an error and two passed balls by the Bobcats. FSU kept their fight getting one run back off a leadoff single from Jones, who would be scored off a fielder choices. Frostburg kept Clarion quiet in the eighth and scored another run to bring the score to 9-8, after Estrada drew a walk and was scored off an RBI single to center by Jones.
After coming to the mound to enter the eighth inning, Kiple stayed to face Clarion in the top of the ninth, where he would record three straight outs off a groundout and two strikeouts. Jimenez drew a leadoff work before advancing to second on a single from Shertzer. With two outs, Guy came up big for the Bobcats hitting an RBI single to center field to score Jimenez and advance Shertzer to third. With the game now tied at nine, Kiple drew strike three, that would get by the catcher, allowing Shertzer to speed home and slide in safely for the 10-9 walk-off victory.
Seven Bobcats recorded multiple hits on the weekend with Guy leading the way in all categories finishing with a total of six hits, six RBIs, and six runs. Jones added six hits as well along with three RBIs, and Shertzer was credited with four hits and three runs.
With the series win, Frostburg improves to 7-3 on the season and Clarion falls to 3-7. FSU will travel down to Cleveland, TN next weekend to take on Lee University in a three game series. The Bobcats will play three games in three days with the first one set for Friday, March 10 at 2 PM. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.
